Mexico News, The Sol, the English Language source of News for the Riviera Nayarit Mexico, including La Penita de Jaltemba, Rincon de Guayabitos, Lo de Marcos. Los Ayala, Lo de Marcos, and San Pancho

Click this ad to go to our site

Click here to order the book!

Click Here to visit our page

Click this ad for more info

Click for details

Click here for more information

LAND FOR SALE

Land suitable for small ranch.

In La Loma 10 minutes north of La Penita. 700,000 pesos. Ejido.

Contact Rafael at

(cell phone 045 311 161 0573)

Click here for more information

October 12th, 2010

..the heartbeat of the Riviera Nayarit

The Sol, the English Language source of News for the Riviera Nayarit Mexico, including La Penita de Jaltemba, Rincon de Guayabitos, Lo de Marcos. Los Ayala, Lo de Marcos, and San Pancho

Learn Spanish Today

Become a Friend on the Riviera Nayarit Click Here

Mexico's Violence Isn't Keeping Tourists Away This Year
ugo Martin - McClatchy-Tribune
go to original
October 10, 2010

The growth in tourism has been focused primarily in Mexican beach resort towns that have not experienced much of the violence.

In a surprising turnabout, international tourism to Mexico showed a sharp increase this summer — a sign that tourists may be putting aside worries about the economy and fears of drug-related violence, analysts say.

Foreign visitors arriving by air to Mexico jumped to 7.1 million in the first eight months of the year — up nearly 20 percent from the same period in 2009 — with most visitors coming from the U.S. and Canada, according to Mexican tourism officials.

The biggest rise came in July, when tourist numbers grew 27.5 percent over the same month last year.

The increase came in spite of a rash of drug-related violence and kidnappings, primarily along the border, and the August bankruptcy of Mexicana Airlines, the nation's largest air carrier.

The growth in tourism has been focused primarily in Mexican beach resort towns that have not experienced much of the violence.

In the first eight months of 2010, 7.1 million foreign travelers flew to Mexico, up 19.2 percent from the same period last year. Of those visitors, 4.33 million were from the U.S., 1.3 million from Canada and 200,513 from Spain, according to Mexican tourism officials.

The latest numbers are a significant increase from 2009, when international tourism to Mexico dropped dramatically after the outbreak of the H1N1 virus, or swine flu. But compared with 2008, international travel to Mexico is up only 6 percent.

Still, analysts say, the latest jump in visitors suggests that U.S. travelers feel more confident about spending on travel again and see Mexico as a good bargain for vacations.

“Memories of last year have started to fade,” said Anthony Concil, a spokesman for the International Air Transport Association, a trade group for the world's airlines.

The sharp increase in visitors to Mexico is also significant because Concil and other analysts have predicted only modest growth in travel worldwide. International air travel, for example, was up 6 percent in August compared with a year earlier, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Hawaii has also seen tourism begin to rebound lately, but not enough to overcome the steep drop-off it suffered in 2009. In August, total arrivals by air to Hawaii were up about 11 percent from the same month last year, marking the ninth consecutive month of growth.

Mexican tourism officials attribute Mexico's tourist increase to a marketing campaign that kicked off in July with the tagline “Mexico, the place you thought you knew.”

“We have had all of these challenges, but we are in the right track,” said Alfonso Sumano, regional director for the Mexico Tourism Board for the Americas.

Headline News

Mexico offers reward in case of missing children

Mexico's attorney general is offering $1.2 million for information on 14 children who disappeared from orphanages in 2009, the presumed victims of a child-trafficking ring. The office also is promising a $400,000 reward for information on three people wanted in the "Casitas del Sur" case. The case, which drew wide publicity in Mexico, is named for the Mexico City orphanage where seven of the children disappeared.,,,,go to original article

Mexico opens probe into reported lake shooting

The Mexican government said Friday it has opened a federal investigation into the reported shooting of an American tourist on a border lake plagued by Mexican pirates and strongly denied delaying action on finding the man or his attackers.

A statement from Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Affairs "categorically rejects claims to the effect that Mexican authorities are not doing enough to find" David Hartley. ….go to original article

Mexico's president opposes marijuana legalization

Prop. 19, the California measure to legalize pot, would undercut Mexico's fight against drug cartels, President Felipe Calderon says. He calls on the Obama administration to oppose the measure.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon strongly opposes the California ballot measure that would legalize small amounts of marijuana, saying it reflects softening attitudes toward drug consumption in the U.S. that are undercutting efforts to control organized crime groups in Mexico.

Calderon, in an interview in Tijuana, said he was disappointed that the U.S. federal government, which for years has pushed Mexico to crack down on drug traffickers, has not done more to oppose the measure. …go to original article

Mexico's violence doesn't scare off tourists

Foreign visitors arriving by air to Mexico jumped to 7.1 million in the first eight months of the year — up nearly 20 per cent from the same period in 2009 — with most visitors coming from the U.S. and Canada, according to Mexican tourism officials,,,go to original article

Lake Chapala And Merida Are Top Places To Live In Mexico For Expats

Brilliant purple bougainvillea spill over the wrought-iron gates of second-floor balconies. Massive stone walls and big carved wooden doors completely conceal what lies beyond. But open those doors and step into a world of wonder. Central courtyards where you can laze beneath a shady tree during the day or watch the moon pass overhead at night, lulled by the soothing sounds of an ancient fountain.
This is colonial Mexico …and I dare you not to fall in love with it….go to original article

Halloween compared to El Dia De los Muertos

With Halloween fast approaching many people have heard about El Dia de los Muerto (The Day of The Dead). Halloween is not the ancient ritual celebrated by the ancient people of Central and South America. El Dia de los Muertos is considered the day of the dead.
This ritual dates back thousands of years and in this celebration skulls are mostly used to celebrate and honor family members and friends that have passed. More than 500 years ago the Spanish conquistadors landed in what now is Mexico. ,,,go to original article

17 best souvenirs to buy in Mexico

The very word "souvenir" evokes visions of cheesy trinkets destined to fall apart before you get them home. The Spanish word, recuerdo, is an improvement. It translates to "reminder" — what a souvenir ought to be. The best are specific to the place you visited and, ideally, made by local people. …go to original article

Visas No Guarantee for Migrant Worker Rights
Mexican Alberto Rivero joined the ranks of seasonal workers in the United States in 2005, and for the last three years he has had to pay all the expenses associated with his visa, transportation and housing, although the law states that these are the responsibility of his U.S. employer.

"Last year I paid something like 800 dollars. With the first company where I worked, I didn't have to pay anything," he told IPS by phone. The 33-year-old works part of each year as a gardener in West Chester, in the northeastern U.S. state of Pennsylvania…..go to original article

WEATHER

Click to see the current weather

Acapulco	Loreto	Puerto Vallarta
Aguascalientes	Los Mochis	Queretaro Airport
Cancun	Manzanillo	San Felipe
Cozumel	Mazatlan	San Jose Del Cabo
Cuernavaca	Merida	San Luis Potosi
Durango	Mexico City	Santa Rosalia
Ensenada	Monterrey	Tampico
Guadalajara	Morelia	Tepic
Guanajuato	Oaxaca	Veracruz
Bahias De Huatulco	Puebla	Zacatecas
Ixtapa Zihuatanejo	Puerto Escondido
La Paz	Puerto Penasco

Last Week

Mexico’s Peso Posts Biggest Gain in 16 Months on U.S. Data

Mexico’s peso posted its biggest monthly gain since May 2009 after U.S. housing and employment data eased concern the country’s biggest export market may return to recession.

The peso rose 4.9 percent to 12.5935 per dollar at 4 p.m. New York time, from 13.2046 on Aug. 31, the best-performing major Latin American currency tracked by Bloomberg….go to original article

Corn Harvest in Mexico Rises to Record 25 Million Tons

Mexico, the world’s fourth-largest producer of corn, harvested a record 24.9 million metric tons of corn this crop year and may increase output next year as steadier rainfall and new technology improve yields, said Agriculture Deputy Minister Mariano Ruiz-Funes.

Corn production may rise about 3 percent to 25.6 million metric tons in the 12 months that begin this month, Ruiz-Funes said in an interview at his Mexico City office yesterday. Mexico’s corn output gained about 3 percent in the crop year through September from the prior year, he said. ….go to original article

Explosion at plaza injures 15 in northern Mexico

An explosion at a plaza in northeastern Mexico injured 15 people, an attack authorities blamed Sunday on drug cartels targeting the civilian population to cause chaos.

Police believe the attackers threw a grenade Saturday night at the main square in the town of Guadalupe, but were still trying to confirm the type of explosive, said Adrian de la Garza, the director of the investigations agency of Nuevo Leon, where the town is located….go to original article

Tourists Flock To Mexico's West Coast Resorts BEACHES & BARGAINS

You might think that three popular coastal resort cities along Mexico's Pacific side -- Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan -would compete with each other for precious tourist dollars, but you'd be wrong. Each has its own personality and appeals to tourists lured by its distinctive features …go to original article

Canadians hesitate to travel to Mexico following government advisory
Expatriate Canadian Tom Gladney used to drive south from Toronto to this village of cobblestone streets and stunning lake vistas every year to spend winters in a part of western Mexico with a climate described as "perpetual spring."

He says he enjoyed the five-day journey through the United States, the deserts and mountains of northern Mexico and the agave-studded central highlands to Ajijic, an hour south of Guadalajara on the shores of Lake Chapala. And he confesses to having never felt unsafe during his travels, even taking his time after crossing into Mexico at Nuevo Laredo. …go to original article

Grenade attack in Mexico injures 12 people

Assailants tossed a grenade into a square in Mexico's northern business city of Monterrey on Saturday, injuring 12 people in an attack the government blamed on drug gangs. The Associated Press was reporting 15 injured.

Unidentified men on foot threw the grenade from the edge of a square where people had gathered in the municipality of Guadalupe, which is part of Monterrey, police said. Four children were among the injured….go to original article

lick the

Click here to visit our site

20 tourists kidnapped in Mexico

Gunmen have kidnapped 20 men who were travelling together in Mexico's Pacific coast resort city of Acapulco, authorities said.

A shoot-out between drug gangs, meanwhile, left 14 people dead in remote town in the northern state of Durango, Mexican newspapers reported.

The group of men in Acapulco were visiting from the western city of Morelia and looking for a place to stay when they were abducted on Thursday, said Fernando Monreal, director of state investigative police in Guerrero state, where the resort city is located….go to original article

Grenades explode near U.S. consulate in Mexico

At least three grenades exploded near the U.S. consulate in Monterrey, Mexico late Friday, a consulate employee told CNN Saturday.

The closest blast was within 40 meters (44 yards) of the consulate, spokesperson Brian Quigley said….go to original article

Mexico: Caviar lifestyle on a tuna fish pension

Lake Chapala is Mexico's largest lake. It offers stunning beauty, colorful culture and consistent climate.

That's why it's known as "The Land of Eternal Spring."

The Lake Chapala area is touted as the best climate in the world for retirement. With an elevation of 5,200 feet, the average temperature is around 70 degrees. As a result, few people have (or need) air conditioning or heating systems…..go to original article

Floods leave families in peril in Mexico

Mexico declared 15 more municipalities disaster areas as the country deals with major flooding caused by tropical cyclones that recently battered the area, according to state media.

The new announcement Friday makes a total of 35 areas that have been given the disaster designation, state-run Notimex news agency said….go to original article

Mexico Seeks to Unify Police to Fight Drugs

The Mexican government is preparing a plan to radically alter the nation’s police forces, hoping not only to instill a trust the public has never had in them but also to choke off a critical source of manpower for organized crime.

The proposal, which the president’s aides say is expected in the coming weeks, would all but do away with the nation’s 2,200 local police departments and place their duties under a “unified command.” It comes at a critical moment for President Felipe Calderón, who faces mounting pressure from the United States and within Mexico to demonstrate progress in defeating the drug cartels. …go to original article

Mexico has no plans to sue over oil spill, for now: Official
Mexico's federal government said Friday it does not plan, for now, to join legal complaints by two of its states to obtain payments over the catastrophic BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that began over five months ago.

Nearly five million barrels of oil gushed into the Gulf after an April 20 explosion aboard the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon oil rig, putting a major dent in the region's multi-billion-dollar fishing and tourism industries, and destroying hundreds of kilometers of fragile coastlines….go to original article

Slims' Transplant Inspires Push for Organ Donations

In 2008, Carlos Slim Domit watched his younger brother suffer progressive health troubles. Not yet 40, Patrick, chairman of Latin America’s largest wireless company, was often fatigued, his hands and feet swollen.

After doctors told Patrick his kidneys were beginning to fail, Carlos had himself tested to see if one of his could be used to save his brother. So did his father, the Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim. The younger Carlos turned out to be the best fit, and surgeons transplanted his kidney to Patrick. …go to original article

Mateja Gives Appreciation to summer clientele

Free food and drinks to loyal customers of Mateja on the beach in Rincon de Guayabitos, Nayarit Mexico

Travel: Mexican Exchange Rule Can Affect Canadians
Canadian Press
go to original
October 02, 2010

Last June Mexico introduces tough on U.S. Restrictions Dollar Transactions - Limiting Tourists and Mexicans Without Exchanging bank accounts to a maximum of $ 1.500 Each month in cash.

Ottawa - New Limits Imposed by Mexico on the Amount of U.S. That Can Be Exchanged dollars for pesos Are Affecting Canadians and Their loonies, the Foreign Affairs Department says.

"Although the rule does Not Apply to Canadian dollars, Some Financial Institutions, hotels and currency exchange Are Not making the Distinction," the department says in a travel advisory.

Last June Mexico introduces tough on U.S. Restrictions Dollar Transactions - Limiting Tourists and Mexicans Without Exchanging bank accounts to a maximum of $ 1.500 Each month in cash - to fight money laundering linked to drug gangs.

The Mexican Association of Banks Said Inconvenience Tourists Would Not Be Because They use debit or credit cards for MOST Purchases.

But an unintended effect of the regulation've Been That destinations Including Some hotels in Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Los Cabos Are Limiting Their guests' exchange of U.S. Amounts dollars to minimum courtesy, Said RentalsInVallarta.com tourism operator, based in Puerto Vallarta.

Should Canadians Their contact hotel or at a Financial Institution Their destination in Mexico Before Their trip to get more information on how the exchange regulation is Being Applied, the Foreign Affairs Department says.

WEATHER

Click to see the current weather

Acapulco	Loreto	Puerto Vallarta
Aguascalientes	Los Mochis	Queretaro Airport
Cancun	Manzanillo	San Felipe
Cozumel	Mazatlan	San Jose Del Cabo
Cuernavaca	Merida	San Luis Potosi
Durango	Mexico City	Santa Rosalia
Ensenada	Monterrey	Tampico
Guadalajara	Morelia	Tepic
Guanajuato	Oaxaca	Veracruz
Bays of Huatulco	Puebla	Zacatecas
Ixtapa Zihuatanejo	Puerto Escondido
La Paz	Puerto Penasco

Question on the Travel By Vehicle Forum

1. Is There a Pet Friendly Hotel in Los Mochis?

If you know the answer Either post directly to the forum or write editor@jaltembasol.com

2. We Would Be Interested in your recommended hotels, pet-friendly or Otherwise as you drive down the Highway to Our Community.

Note: There Are A Number Of People Who Want to Be As They travel buddies drive down the coast. Sign up and travel together as a mini caravan! This is a free service.

Recycling Outreach to Compostela

Two students from CECYTA, (The College of Science and Technology Studies of the State of Nayarit), Alejandro Rodriguez Vidal and Irving Josue Daniel Muñoz Contacted the DIF (The National Agency for Family Development, the public organization That Applies, Measures and implements the public Policies in the social assistance program area), in Compostela, looking for a project as part of Their program of study. Marvilla Guadalupe Lopez of La Peñita, Sub-Delegate of Inapam (the organization That Assists seniors and is part of the DIF) George Asked Aceves of the old Hotel California about making the baskets Used for collection of plastic in the Peñita. George Contacted Vern Porter, recycling the chair of the Committee, about hosting a working party to show the students how to make the baskets for collection of plastics in Compostela. On Tuesday September 28th and Guadalupe WELCOMED Vern George as well as the two students and two Representatives of the DIF from Compostela - 3Rs Age Youth Coordinator, Alicia Gutierrez Sanchez and the 3rd Auxiliary young age, Ma Isabel Cuevas - to teach and Have all Apply the process of making the baskets. The students left with two completed baskets to help in Their goal of Obtaining donations to constructuct more for placement in Compostela. Guadalupe, the Delegate for helping seniors Wants to include seniors in making baskets for use in the Peñita. The Committee Will Be in contact with her at the first meeting in November Los Amigos.

What if the Shoe Was On the Other Foot? Some Thoughts on Violent Crime and Tourism
Lydia 'Lola' Gregory - MexicoPremiere.com
go to original
October 11, 2010

Should we close up California because, according to the LAPD, even though overall gang crimes fell 12.2 percent, 31 more people were shot (this year) in suspected gang crimes, an increase of 4.9 percent?

What if CNN headlines blared "Drug Violence Claims 4 Lives in Popular Vacation Destination" every time a gang-banger (any color, any race) shot up a rival gang’s sidewalk in Los Angeles?

What if Fox News ran a constant ticker that read "Murder Chose Chicago 131 Times This Year" and held forums discussing why the city should be boycotted? (In fact, September in that city ended last week with 30 homicides. Nearly 20% of the victims were teens.)

Should travel warnings be issued for the Windy City? Should we close up California because, according to the LAPD, even though overall gang crimes fell 12.2 percent, 31 more people were shot (this year) in suspected gang crimes, an increase of 4.9 percent?

I wouldn’t be lying if I said the US has more violence than other first-world countries — and that’s been a fact even before drug use in this country escalated to the point where every enterprising dealer south of the border wanted a piece of the action.

We have more robberies, rapes and assaults here. We glorify violence in our movies and our TV shows. We breed serial killers. Meth labs are popping up like daisies in the suburbs (and we all know how sweet and mellow meth-heads can be.) We are now even venturing into suicide promotion with the sudden spike of bullying in our schools.

So... honestly. Where are our travel warnings?

Are you mad yet? You should be. This is a great country. It’s a beautiful country. And if you stay away from the scary section of town, if you don’t deal drugs, if you aren’t a hooker and you steer clear of shady bars, chances are you’ll have a ball and be safe as houses in every city, coast to coast.

It’s not a guarantee, though, because even in this great nation of ours, innocent lives have been claimed in crossfire. But the police scanners certainly won’t keep me from enjoying the fall weather along the Navy Pier in Chicago or spending a weekend of pure fun in Los Angeles.

So why should I cancel my visit to Puerto Vallarta? Or forget my plans to visit Mexico City for a week?

I shouldn’t. And neither should you.

Yes, be careful. Yes, take normal precautions. No, don’t go to the locus of the cartels for a drive or a drink.

I know I’m not the only one out there who thinks this way. I’m not a lone voice in the wilderness, but sometimes it sure feels that way. So, I’m doing what I can with the tools I have.

Here are just a couple of links from like-minded people.

The Economist Blog: Mexico: Safer Than Canada

Mexico Boutique Hotels Blog: Travel Warning for the United States?

I know there are many more of you out there. Raise your voice. Let it be heard. Thousands upon thousands of people in Mexico depend on tourism for their livelihood. People who can’t feed their children become desperate. And we all know about desperate people. Please help reverse this desperation by looking beyond the headlines.

Mexico Premier's mission is to become the place for anyone who wants Mexico information to check out frequently. Check it out at MexicoPremiere.com.

Crocodile Attack Near Puerto Vallarta
VNN
October 05, 2010

American Crocodile photo taken by Thomas Castelazo in La Manzanilla, Mexico. (Wikimedia Commons)

Crocodiles Can Be Dangerous to Humans, and Attacks in Mexico, Costa Rica, and Guatemala Are Not Unprecedented. These Attacks Rarely make international news, and THEREFORE Are not well-documented. However, They can - and do - Happen in places WHERE Are native crocodiles.

According To a Recent articles written by Tom Marshall for the Guadalajara Reporter:

A 33-year-old man Sunday evening WAS Killed after Being Attacked by crocodiles in a lagoon 40 minutes from Puerto Vallarta. Being There Despit signs warning of crocodiles, Alberto Esquivel Pelayo waded Into the lagoon DURING a fishing trip with friends.

Local reports say That the men Were drinking alcohol whilst fishing.

Esquivel WAS bitten by a crocodile, Which Then pulled him Into the Deep Waters of the lagoon WHERE I WAS in September upon by at least five Others, According To Witness.

Tourists at the Boca Negra area Known as the Ameca River and near Not far from the Nayarit / Jalisco state borders on Helplessly watched. Various people tried to resuscitate Esquivel It Was But to no avail.

Police shot dead a crocodile weighing 400 kilos and Some Almost five meters long.

There Have Been three crocodile Attacks around the Puerto Vallarta area so far this year.

Jorge Tellez, Director of Biological Sciences at the University of Guadalajara Attacks Said Would like to continue as long as OCCUR Humans crocodiles take away natural habitats. Tellez call for permanent crocodile experts to watch over the area and an Ecological Park Where the endangered species Can Be Controlled in Their native environment and Will not cause harm to humans.

As always, play close Attention to the signs around beaches. Are crocodiles Indicates if present one, stay out of the water in Those areas. Keep a close and Stock reign on Children and pets too.

Mexico's Illegal Immigrants? Americans.
Meghan Sullivan - GlobalPost
go to original
September 27, 2010

The Majority of illegal Immigrants Not in Mexico come from Central America, pero from the U.S..

Guadalajara, Mexico - It May Be The dream of Some college seniors to spend a year post-graduation working "under the table" serving pints in Some European glorious city. But Thousands of American adults living on the lam in Mexico?

As in the United States, Estimates of the number of illegal Immigrants in Mexico Are hard to come by. But the Majority Are ex-pats from the U.S., According To Mexico's federal bureau of Immigration.

Many undocumented Americans arrive Not Knowing how long they'll stay, do not get the Appropriate papers and end up in the country illegally, Mexican Immigration Said agent Amparo Perez Beatrice Alatorre.

With all of the discussion about Arizona's controversial Immigration Law - and Illegal Immigration in the U.S. in general - many people have countered That Mexico Should Take a look at Its Own Immigration Laws and problems.

Critics allege That Thousands of migrants from Central American Countries and enter Mexico illegally mistreated Are Along the way, ranging from illegal Offenses with Requests for documents to extortion and rape. They charge That Are Mexican migrants subject to overuse That mirror - or Are Far Worse - than the Immigrants Receive Treatment in the United States.

Human rights reports Have Shown That abuse of migrants, Many in transit to the U.S., is, in fact, to problem in Mexico. And Perez ADMITTED That Despit the law, "I think it happens."

But What Do the reports address Is That These Are travelers dealing with a small number overuse of the total illegal immigrant Population in Mexico. Experts Suggest the home country by May Percentages mirror Those of legal foreign-born residents. Some 70 Percent of legal foreign-born Mexicans come from the U.S. The next largest number, about 5 PERCENT, hail from Guatemala.

Pieces in U.S. half from the Washington Times to the Concord Monitor That Have inaccurately CLAIMED Mexico's policy is to jail and deport to Be Those found illegally in the country.

But deporting Rather Than People Who Do not Have to Be Authorization in the country, There is a process for "Regularizing" these Immigrants. According the law, Said Perez, illegal Immigrants are "never" arrested and Sent to jail unless They Have Committed a crime in Mexico or in Their home countries.

Once Foreigners Have Been Legally living in Mexico for five years, They Become Citizens dog.

Many Americans, like Barbara Rudd, find Appealing Mexico as a retirement option, with STI warm climate, rich culinary tradition and affordable property. A Small number come for work or vacation and decide to stick around. And Others still fall in love and end up Eventually Marrying and Remaining in the country.

Rudd, 62, has-been living in Mexico for more Than five years. She and her husband retired to the Lake Chapala region of Guadalajara and Outside Bought a house in the town of Jocotopec. And while, she says, She Does not Want to renouncer her American citizenship, she does want to stay in Mexico for her Remaining days.

On this particular day at the Immigration office, she is upgrading her official status to "immigrant" after the five-year waiting period.

"I come and go and do what i want," Rudd said. "It's so easy to own property. Compared to the U.S., it's a breeze. "

Though she says Rudd has gone Through the process Legally, Those Who Are in the country illegally and Later decides They Want To Become Citizens Have little to fear.

If it is discovered someone is living in the country Appropriate Without the documents, as long as They Have Not Committed to crime They Are required to pay a fine dog and Then begin the process of regularization to get on track to citizenship.

"To be undocumented in Mexico is not a Criminal Offense," Said Jorge Durand, professor of the Social Movement of study at the University of Guadalajara and author of more than a dozen books on Mexican migration.

According To Mexico's Immigration law, illegal entry Into Mexico, violating Terms of a visa or Trying to Get Back Into the country after Being Deported Could result in a fine equivalent to 20 to 100 days of minimum wage in Mexico - or Between $ 83.60 and $ 441.00. (As of January 2010, There Were Three Different Minimum Wages, the equivalent of $ 4.41, $ 4.29 or $ 4.18 a day Depending on place of residence.)

The one violation That May carry a prison sentence is aiding in the transport of illegal Immigrants Into Mexico. Could this result in 12 years in jail and a hefty fine of 10,000 days of minimum wage pay - $ 41.800 to $ 44.100.

But, Generally, Those in the country illegally Are fined, Told to make Their legal status and sat on Their Way.

"Right now, Our goal is to Make It Easier for foreigners to come here," Perez said.

Mexico Road Safety Bill and Dorothy Mexico Travels

Have Dorothy and Bill Bell Mexico Road and lectured about RV travel in colleges, and private seminars RV Shows THROUGHOUT Western Canada and the U.S.. They Have Travelled to all 31 states over a dozen times and Are Considered experts on road travel in this amazing country. Visit www.ontheroadin.com to view photos and articles about Mexico.

American and Canadian snow birds Are Making Up Their Minds on whether or not to drive by car or recreational vehicles to Their place in the Mexican sun. However, Both Recent travel warnings by the Canadian and American governments Along with half negative reports have generated a Tremendous Interest and Concern over Safety Issues in Mexico travel.

Response to Our First report on Road Safety in Mexico over whelmed us. It generated over a Thousand inquiries and Requests for More detailed information on road safety in Mexico. The Following is our best Assessment and contains answers to-many of the questions That Have Been Posed to us.

To read the Entire story click here

Warm climate gardening tips

soggy 004.JPG We are in. As the height of the tropical rainy season, the garden is soggy-note the standing water around the plants, left. Alas, it is too much of a good thing, and in my garden, Several Species of plants in Have Drowned the daily heavy rains. Usually I take cuttings from plants know That I Will not survive the wet season and place out of direct rainfall Them, But this year I Was Too Busy with Other Things. I'll be at the replacement BUYING nursery plants come mid October. Until Then i have bare spots in the landscape and rotted plants in pots. On the Other Hand, loving the hot tropic night-allamanda vines, Bleeding Heart, and Mandevilla-Are Proliferating. HAVING además adapted to the distinct moisture extremes of the wet / dry seasons, These lovely flowering plants bloom all year long, plow salt tolerant, and Are favorites of hummingbirds and butterflies. With All These perks, tropic vines Are perfect for gardens as Riviera Nayarit They do well in containers or in the ground .... go to page 4 Home and Living

Play slideshow

Where Did Mexico's Blacks Go?
Steve Sailer - abibitumikasa.com
go to original
October 10, 2010

A people losing sight of their origins are dead, a people deaf to purposes are lost. Under fertile rain, in scorching sunshine there is no difference: their bodies are mere corpses, awaiting final burial.
- Two Thousand Seasons by Ayi Kwei Armah

Emiliano Zapata was perhaps the noblest figure in 20th century Mexican politics, a peasant revolutionary still beloved as a martyred man of the people.

The nearly complete absorption of Mexico's identifiably African people offers an intriguing contrast to the persistence of a rather distinct black race in the United States.

Most Americans, and even many Mexicans, don't realize that a significant fraction of the Mexican population once looked markedly African. At least 200,000 black slaves were imported into Mexico from Africa. By 1810, Mexicans who were considered at least part-African numbered around a half million, or more than 10 percent of the population.

Mexican music, for example, has deep roots in West Africa. "La Bamba," the famous Mexican folk song that was given a rock beat by Ritchie Valens and a classic interpretation by Los Lobos, has been traced back to the Bamba district of Angola.

What's especially ironic about Mexico's "racial amnesia" - a term coined by African-American historian Ted Vincent - is that during Mexico's first century of independence, more than a few of its most famous leaders were visibly part black. Emiliano Zapata was perhaps the noblest figure in 20th century Mexican politics, a peasant revolutionary still beloved as a martyred man of the people. Although Marlon Brando played him in the 1952 movie "Viva Zapata!" the best-known photograph of the illiterate idealist shows him with clearly part-African hair. His village had long been home to many descendents of freed slaves.

Similarly, Vicente Guerrero, a leading general in the Mexican War of Independence and the new nation's second president, appears from his portraits and his nickname to have been part black.

Perhaps African-Mexicans were so often leading the revolutionary vanguard because they were even more oppressed by law than Mexico's Indians. Back in the 16th century, the great Spanish Bishop Bartolome de las Casas, the first modern human rights activist, in the sense of battling for justice for another race, persuaded the King of Spain to ban the enslavement of Indians, at least nominally. Yet, bondage for Africans remained legal until "El Negro Guerrero" officially abolished it in 1829. It had largely withered out before then, however. The apparent assimilation of Mexico's ex-slaves into the overall gene pool is in marked contrast to America's experience, where the black race has remained relatively distinct. In the average self-declared white American's family tree, there is only the equivalent of one black out of every 128 ancestors, according to the ongoing research of molecular anthropologist Mark D. Shriver of Penn State University and his colleagues.

In fact, Mexico even differs from the rest of Latin America, where distinct black populations remain genetically unassimilated. "Mexico is unique in this regard," commented population geneticist Ricardo M. Cerda-Flores of the Mexico's Autonomous University in Nuevo Leon.

Cerda-Flores' team found that a sample of Mexicans living around Monterrey in Northeast Mexico averaged around 5 percent African by ancestry, according to its genetic markers. In other words, if you could accurately trace the typical family tree back until before the first Spaniards and their African slaves arrived in Mexico in 1519, you would find that about one out of twenty of the subjects' forebears were Africans.

Cerda-Flores and his colleagues also examined the DNA of Mexican-Americans in Texas, who came out as about 6 percent black. Other studies of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans by molecular anthropologists have come up with black admixture rates ranging from 3 percent to 8 percent.

By way of contrast, this appears to be, very roughly, something like half of the black ancestry level of the overall American population, as implied by Shriver's studies. Of course, most of the African ancestors of Americans are visibly concentrated among African-Americans, who average 82 percent to 83 percent black, according to Shriver. Among Mexicans, however, African genes appeared to be spread more broadly and evenly.

Nevertheless, the official ideology of Mexico has been that the Mexicans are simply a "mestizo" people - a mixture of Spaniards and Indians - officially referred to as "La Raza" or "The Race." Since 1928, Mexico has celebrated Oct. 12 as "The Day of The Race." On Oct. 12, 1946, Mexican politician José Vasconcelos famously declared mestizos to be "the cosmic race."

African-American anthropologist Bobby Vaughn wrote, "Issues of race have been so colored by Mexico's preoccupation with 'the Indian question' that the Afro-Mexican experience tends to blend almost invisibly into the background, even to Afro-Mexicans themselves. Mexico's official narratives ... Leave Afro-Mexicans outside of the national consciousness."

That's because Mexico's national ideology centers on "the belief that contemporary Mexico is a kind of 'perfect blend' of both Spanish and Indian heritages, and that this synthesis is at the heart of what it means to be Mexican."

Socially, Mexico does not have any kind of "color line," in contrast to the United States, where "one drop of African blood" frequently categorizes a person as "black." For example, Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry's white mother raised Halle to think of herself as black, even though her African-American father abandoned the family when she was quite young. Those kind of sharp-edged racial categories seldom exist in Latin American countries.

In reality, Mexico's white-Indian racial blending is far less complete than Mexico's political orthodoxy would make it appear. What Mexico does have instead of a color line is a "color continuum." There are no sharp racial divides, yet the rule for social prestige remains "the whiter the better." For example, the stars of Mexican television are almost completely European. In fact, the actresses on Mexican "telenovelas" tend to be blonder than the ones on American soap operas.

Mexico's elites are much whiter looking than its working class. At 6'5" tall, former president Vicente Fox stood roughly a head taller than the average Mexican man. Fox's paternal grandfather was an Irish-American born in Cincinnati.

There remain in dire poverty millions of virtually pureblooded Indian peasants, who speak the same Indian languages as their ancestors did before 1492.

This ideological assumption that all Mexicans are mestizo can lead to some amusing conundrums. For example, Luis Echeverria, president from 1970-1976, saw himself as the natural leader of the nonwhite Third World. The problem was that he, like most Mexican presidents, appeared to be pure white. So, he spent many hours under sun lamps, trying to tan himself into the Third World.

While it's easy to scoff at this "mestizo myth" as propaganda put out by the mostly white ruling class to keep the brown lower classes from noticing Mexico's racial hierarchy, its usefulness at maintaining the peace should not be despised. In recent decades, Mexico has suffered much less from racial violence than nearby Guatemala or more distant Peru. During the '80s in both of those countries, where attitudes of white superiority are more blatant than in Mexico, oppressed Indians joined Marxist intellectuals in guerilla wars against the white ruling class.

The Mexican populace's African "third root" is occasionally honored, but Mexican officials have generally ignored it. University of Minnesota demographer Robert McCaa wrote, "Afro-Mexicans, who numbered one-half million in 1810, more or less vanished, thoroughly intermingled and unidentifiable by 1895 if the official discourse is accepted at face value."

That discourse should be viewed skeptically. It's unlikely that African racial characteristics had become so blended in by 1895 that they had actually vanished. Yet, since then, black genes appear to have been so broadly distributed around the population that few Mexican individuals stand out today as notably black.

In fact, the black contribution to Mexico's "cosmic race" has been so forgotten that in last November's race for governor of the state of Michoacán, Alfredo Anaya of the former ruling party PRI hammered away at his opponent Lázaro Cárdenas, the scion of Mexico's most famous leftist dynasty, for having a part-black Cuban wife and son.

Anaya argued, "There is a great feeling that we want to be governed by our own race, by our own people."

One of his supporters said, "It's one thing to be brown. The black race is something different."

Ultimately, this strategy failed, as Anaya lost. Still, he came within five percentage points of beating the son of Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, the man who is widely believed to have been cheated out of Mexico's presidency in 1988 by massive PRI vote fraud. Further, this Lázaro Cárdenas is the grandson of the Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico's most popular president, who is still adored for triumphing over the United States by nationalizing American-owned oil companies in 1938. So, considering the vast name recognition enjoyed by Cardenas, Anaya's pro-mestizo and anti-black ploy cannot be dismissed as wholly ineffectual.

By 2001, after generations of intermarriage, no more than 1 percent of the Mexican population is said to be identifiably African. Most of the remaining Afro-Mexicans are concentrated in the humid coastal regions, rather than the cooler highlands or dry northern desert.

There are self-consciously Afro-Mexican communities on the Gulf of Mexico near Vera Cruz, where the slave ships docked. There are heavily black villages on the Costa Chica on the Pacific, although the residents tend to see themselves as simply Mexicans with dark skins. One confusing factor is that Mexico also imported slaves from across the Pacific, including some African-looking New Guineans and also Negritos from the Philippines.

Life can be difficult for black Mexicans, because they are often assumed to be illegal immigrants from elsewhere in Latin America, such as Panama. The Mexican police often treat illegal aliens harshly.

Mexico's obliviousness to its black roots is slowly changing. An Afro-Mexican Museum recently opened south of Acapulco in Cuajinicuilapa in the state of Guerrero, which is named after the Afro-Mestizo second president.

So, what happened to the Afro-Mexicans who made up one tenth of the population in 1810?

The massive importation of East African slaves into the Middle East has not left much of a visible trace there either, although Prince Bandar, the Saudi Arabian ambassador to America, is clearly part black. Historian Bernard Lewis attributes this lack of blacks to the tendency in the Islamic world to castrate male slaves and work both sexes to death.

In contrast, the Mexican experience appears to have been much more benign. According to Cerda-Flores, intermarriage continued steadily until African genes had widely diffused into the population.

It's often argued these days that race is purely a "social construct." This view often puzzles geneticists, such as the forensic anthropologists who are employed by the police to examine hairs left at crime scenes and determine the race of suspects from their DNA.

Yet, there is a definite sense in which societies construct their own genetic makeups. America's color line and "one drop" rule have kept the genes of black Africans relatively isolated. In contrast, Mexico's color continuum and openness to interracial marriage have spread them so widely that there are few conspicuously black Mexicans left.

Mariachi music goes beyond entertainment; it embodies the unique Mexican culture, spirit, and traditions. Originating in Jalisco, today this popular grassroots music encompasses the essence of all Mexico and its people. The month long Guadalajara music and arts festival is a must-see event that promises to be even more spectacular this year as the country celebrates its bicentennial. The first series of performances, The International Mariachi Festival of Guadalajara, runs from August 23 through September 11. There are numerous parades with hundreds of mariachi floats, folk ballet dancers, rodeos, and art exhibits besides the ubiquitous street vendors with delicious traditional Mexican cuisine. This year the mariachis will also perform in churches and cathedrals during masses. The world’s largest mariachi competition, with 500 mariachi bands, is staged at the beautiful Benito Juarez Theatre, with many other concerts held in city parks and at various concert halls. ...Go here (page 3) for complete article

Mexico Boom Biggest in Americas as Drug Criminals Lose to Nafta
al Barak Harif & Jonathan J. Levin - Bloomberg
go to original
October 04, 2010

For all of the killings of elected officials at war with the criminal drug gangs, there is no stopping the Mexican investment boom thanks to the 16-year-old trade agreement that is buoying Latin America’s second-largest economy.

Mexico’s stocks, bonds and currency are beating the U.S. and Brazil for the first time since 2002, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Dollar debt issued by Mexico is returning 16 percent in 2010, more than the 14 percent for Brazil bonds and 8.8 percent for U.S. Treasuries, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp.

The IPC stock index is up 5.3 percent, compared with a 2.8 percent advance for the Standard & Poor’s 500 and 2.4 percent gain for the Bovespa. The peso rallied 4.5 percent against the dollar this year, surpassing the Brazilian real’s 3.2 percent increase.

“The reality is that you will continue to see companies making long-term investments,” said Guillermo Osses, who helps oversee $50 billion in emerging-market assets at Newport Beach, California-based Pacific Investment Management Co., the world’s biggest bond fund manager. “We still have significant exposure in Mexico.”

The North American Free Trade Agreement that took effect in 1994 continues to lure investors even as Mexico confronts its worst-ever drug violence. The treaty signed with the U.S. and Canada caused overseas sales to quadruple. In the first seven months of this year, Mexico’s share of U.S. exports rose while China’s fell, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Gross domestic product expanded 7.6 percent in the second quarter, the most since 1998, boosted by U.S. demand for everything from refrigerators to cars.

Growing Partnership

“Since 1995, the advantage that Mexico has as a partner with the U.S. in Nafta has been growing,” said Sergio Luna, the head economist at Citigroup Inc.’s Banamex unit in Mexico City.

Investors poured $2 billion into Mexican equities in the 12 months to July, reversing a $470 million net withdrawal in the year-earlier period, according to EPFR Global, a research firm in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The IPC index will climb 6.5 percent in the next year, compared with 15 percent for the Bovespa, according to Bank of America forecasts on Sept. 16. The S&P 500 will gain 4.3 percent by the end of this year, according to the average estimate of 11 strategists surveyed by Bloomberg.

The violence is negative “from a human perspective,” said Pimco’s Osses. “But from an investor perspective it’s not that big of a problem.”

‘Tragic Dimensions’

Yields on Mexico’s benchmark 10 percent bonds due in 2024 dropped to an all-time low 6.36 percent on Aug. 20, following a record three-month-long decline in consumer prices through June.

The peso is forecast to climb 2.3 percent by the end of next year, compared with a 0.6 percent drop for the real, according to the median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

“Drug-related violence in Mexico has increased, and even spilled over to areas in the country previously thought to be immune,” said Stefan Hofer, an emerging-markets equity strategist at Bank Julius Baer & Co. in Zurich, which oversees about $160 billion worldwide. “While the security situation is an important issue to watch, and has many tragic dimensions, international investors have not been dissuaded from investing in Mexico.”

Eleven Mexican mayors have been killed since the start of the year, adding to gang violence that killed more than 28,000 people since President Felipe Calderon took office in 2006.

Mass Murder

Gunmen kidnapped Edelmiro Cavazos, the mayor of Santiago in Nuevo Leon state, on Aug. 15. He was found bound and shot on the side of a mountain road on Aug. 18. Marco Antonio Leal, the mayor of Hidalgo in the border state of Tamaulipas, was assassinated while driving on Aug. 29. Alexander Lopez, mayor of El Naranjo in San Luis Potosi state, was shot as he sat at his desk on Sept. 8.

Gustavo Sanchez, the interim mayor of Tancitaro in Michoacan state, was found on a country road on Sept. 27. His corpse showed signs that he had been stoned to death, state officials said.

Seventy-two murdered migrants were discovered at a ranch in Tamaulipas on Aug. 25. Two days later in the same state, a car bomb exploded outside the offices of Grupo Televisa SA, the world’s largest Spanish-language broadcaster.

Mexico’s push to draw tourists, the country’s third-biggest source of dollar inflows after oil and remittances, is getting more difficult as the violence persists. Eight Mexicans were killed in an attack on Aug. 31 at a bar in the resort city of Cancun.

College-Age Tourists

Hotels in Acapulco and Cancun had a smaller-than-normal influx of college-age customers in March, according to tour operators. The number of spring breakers handled by travel service StudentCity dropped 45 percent from last year in Acapulco and 30 percent in Cancun, Christina Ferraro, an event organizer for the company, said in March.

Mexico’s international tourism revenue fell 15 percent last year, the first decline in a decade, as swine flu drove down spending by travelers to $11.3 billion. While spending by visitors rose 6.8 percent in the first six months of the year to $6.5 billion from the same period in 2009, the amount is still down 11 percent from the first six months of 2008.

“If tourism is affected, it’s not so much from the drug violence but from issues here in the U.S., such as the economic crisis,” said Francisco Alzuru, who helps manage about $200 million in emerging-market assets at Hansberger Global Investors in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “The impact of the swine flu was a major one.”

Biggest Threat

Fifty-seven percent of business executives say the drug war is the biggest threat to the economy in Mexico, Latin America’s second-largest after Brazil, according to a July survey published by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, up from 49 percent in March and 22 percent in December 2009. Finance Minister Ernesto Cordero said Sept. 1 that violence from organized crime is shaving 1.2 percentage points off economic output a year.

“The federal government reiterates that it will continue working for the security of its citizens with all the state resources at its reach,” Calderon said in an e-mailed statement on Sept. 8.

Expanding Economy

The International Monetary Fund forecasts Mexico’s economy will expand 4.5 percent this year after shrinking 6.5 percent in 2009, the biggest rebound among the world’s largest nations after Russia. Sales at retailers in the U.S., Mexico’s largest trading partner, climbed in August for a second consecutive month, allaying concern the world’s largest economy will stumble in the second half.

Mexican production of cars and light trucks rose 53 percent in August from the same month a year earlier, the nation’s Automobile Industry Association said on Sept. 8 in a statement distributed in Mexico City. Exports increased 58.1 percent from a year ago to 175,904 cars and light trucks.

Mexico’s exports to the U.S. gained market share from China during the global financial crisis as companies benefited from lower shipping costs from a border country, said Luis De la Calle, a former Mexican negotiator for Nafta.

‘Competitive Destination’

“Mexico is perceived as good diversification of risk versus China,” said De la Calle, who is now a partner at Mexico City-based business adviser De la Calle Madrazo Mancera SA. “Mexico is a competitive destination for manufacturers and corporations.”

In the first seven months of the year, Mexico’s share of U.S. exports rose to 12 percent from 11 percent a year earlier. China’s share fell to 18.1 percent from 18.7 percent, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

Companies from Tlalnepantla-based Mexichem SAB, Latin America’s largest plastic pipemaker, to Grupo Carso SAB, the holding company controlled by billionaire Carlos Slim, helped lead gains in Mexico’s benchmark stock index this year. The IPC index trades for 15.8 times analysts’ estimates for 2010 earnings, more than the 13.4 times for the Bovespa and a 13.7 price-to-earnings ratio for the S&P 500.

The violence hasn’t kept Volkswagen AG, Europe’s largest carmaker, and Purchase, New York-based PepsiCo Inc., the world’s largest snack-food maker, from investing in Mexico.

Volkswagen plans to start construction this year on a plant in Silao, Mexico, that will have a capacity to produce 330,000 engines annually. The project will create about 700 jobs in the city “over the medium term,” the Wolfsburg, Germany-based company said in a Sept. 22 statement.

“The Nafta agreement helped Mexico and provided support,” Pimco’s Osses said. “The influence that the drug violence has on business isn’t that significant at this point. Volkswagen decided that it’s not going to prevent them from investing in Mexico.”

Pepsi’s local unit took out a full page ad in the Monterrey-based El Norte newspaper on Sept. 30, pledging $20 million for a food research center in the region and promising to maintain its presence in the country’s north.

“We’re proud of our roots with 81 years in Monterrey,” the ad said. “We’re here today, and we’ll be here tomorrow.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Tal Barak Harif in New York at tbarak(at)bloomberg.net; Jonathan J. Levin in Mexico City at jlevin20(at)bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Papadopoulos at Papadopoulos(at)bloomberg.net

lick the

Click here to visit our site

Jalisco Governor: Gay Marriage 'Grosses Me Out'
Associated Press
go to original
October 09, 2010

Emilio González Márquez, Governor of Jalisco

Guadalajara, Mexico — The governor of Mexico's Jalisco state says gay marriages disgust him.

Gov. Emilio Gonzalez says marriage should be between a man and a woman. He adds, in his words, "that other thing, as they say, still grosses me out."

Gonzalez spoke Friday at a forum on family in Guadalajara city.

Guadalajara has been a focal point of Mexico's debate over gay marriage, which sharpened after Mexico City enacted a law in December allowing same-sex couples to wed and adopt children.

Cardinal Juan Sandoval, the archbishop of Guadalajara, stirred controversy by suggesting Mexico City's government bribed the Supreme Court to uphold the law in August.

Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard filed a defamation suit against Sandoval.

Father Hildago Governor's Palace Guadalajara Bill Bell Phtograph

Sex to Die For: Romance Insect Style

There is a North American species of March flies in the insect family Bibionidae that is known as Lovebugs because of the large swarms that fly about ‘in flagrante delicto,’ oblivious to their surroundings. In the tropics, they herald the change of seasons as they mature only twice a year. Lovebugs survive because they mainly exist to reproduce. After they grow from larvae they spend the rest of their brief lives attached to the opposite sex. Soon after mating, the male dies and is dragged around by the female, which is perhaps the Lovebugs’ one similarity to humans. The proliferation of the species occurs because the adult bugs have no natural enemies (automobiles are considered manufactured enemies). When the bugs are gone that just means all the adults of that generation have died, and it will be a matter of months until the larvae that were left will mature into adults. Still, what a great way to live: have sex until you die.

To read more about the Love bug click here

Classified Ads

For Sale: Shaw Direct Satelite System, 76 cm. dish. $300.00 Can. Email me at nsmalkoske@gmail.com

Se Vende: Sistema de Satélite, Shaw Directo, 76 cm. Antena parabòlica. $3600 pesos. Correo electrónico nsmalkoske@gmail.com

For Sale: Satelite radio system, good reception, contact me at Email: nsmalkoske@gmail.com

Se Vende: Radio satélite, muchos estaciónes, contacteme a correo electrónico nsmalkoske@gmail.com

Patron Saint to Mexican Truck Drivers Bill Bell Photograph

President Submits Bill for Single Police Command to Congress
Suzanne Stephens Waller - Presidencia de la República
go to original
October 11, 2010

It is time to dignify police work at all levels, because belonging to our country's police forces should be a source of pride and warrant all citizens' admiration.
- Felipe Calderón

Mexico City - Last week, Felipe Calderón submitted a constitutional reform bill to Congress to establish a Single Police Command to meet citizens' demand for a reliable, effective police corps and transform the country's security force.

“This is one of the most important reforms in the fight to achieve Mexicans' security. Throughout our history, the integration, functioning and coordination of the police force occurred haphazardly, without meeting the country's changing security needs," he said.

At the Federal Police Command Center in Iztapalapa, the President declared: “Reorganizing and strengthening the mechanisms for coordination, restoring citizens’ confidence and ensuring the minimum conditions for safeguarding rights and the full exercise of freedom is precisely what we are seeking to achieve through this initiative, which represents a major change, similar to that sought in the Penal Justice System Reform, which combines with it."

Accompanied by Interior Secretary Francisco Blake Mora, and Public Security Secretary Genaro García Luna, the President explained that this bill seeks to reorganize local police competence and commands. The aim is to establish greater coordination and a homologated systematization of recruitment and selection and to set up reliability controls as well as awards, promotions, benefits and admission policies for police throughout the country.

"This reform proposes that every state have a police corps under the command of the governor, who will appoint a director. State police will be responsible for safeguarding people’s integrity, rights, freedom and assets, preserving and re-establishing law and order, preventing violence and crimes, reacting immediately to a crime once it is committed and sanctioning administrative crimes.

Municipal police will also be under the command of the governor, who will appoint a director at the suggestion of each local mayor. This will facilitate the coordination of state and municipal forces and their links with the Federal Police, he explained.

During the event, at which President Calderón handed out Awards for Bravery and Performance to Federal Police officers, he urged members of this institution to make a difference in Mexico so that, on the basis of their example, each state will have a police force that will establish improve the country’s public security.

"It is time to dignify police work at all levels, because belonging to our country's police forces should be a source of pride and warrant all citizens' admiration.

People should enter the Federal Police Force to make a change. Although the police force is synonymous with corruption in Mexico, Federal Police should be synonymous with honesty. Although it is widely believed that the police force is unable to cope efficiently with crime, Federal Police is and should be synonymous with efficiency and capacity, not only to deal with but also to reduce crime," he explained.